Delayed Obama-Era Rule on Student Debt Relief Is to Take Effect | New York Times

October 16, 2018

A long-delayed federal rule intended to protect student loan borrowers who were defrauded by their schools went into effect on Tuesday, after a judge rejected an industry challenge and the Education Department ended efforts to stall it any longer.

U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, Rep. Joe Kennedy III of Massachusetts, Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey, the Debt Collective organization and others on Monday joined the Project on Predatory Student Lending to launch a public awareness campaign urging eligible students of former Corinthian Colleges to apply to have the Department of Education cancel their debts.

DeVos Will Not Seek Further Delay of Obama For-Profits Rule | Associated Press

October 12, 2018

The Education Department said Friday it will no longer try to delay an Obama-era regulation that helped students defrauded by for-profit colleges get their loans forgiven. A federal court ruled last month that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ decision to delay the regulation, known as borrower defense, was unlawful and that the rule should go into effect. The department had until next Tuesday to respond.

A key court hearing is scheduled for Tuesday in a case involving an industry group’s challenge to the U.S. Department of Education’s 2016 borrower defense rule. Last month, a federal judge ruled in a related case that the department had illegally acted to delay the 2016 borrower defense rule, which incorporated critical protections for students.

It probably surprises no one that Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos is not making sense, but her stands on key issues are starting to be noticed in the courts. And while DeVos would not usually be held personally liable for the harm she is doing to students, borrowers, or taxpayers, there is at least one exception: if she knowingly and improperly allocates taxpayer dollars.

Despite the Economic Recovery, Student Debtors’ ‘Monster in the Closet’ has Only Worsened | CNBC

September 22, 2018

In many ways, Daniel Strong is happy with his life. He owns a three-bedroom ranch-style house in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he lives with his wife and 3-year-old son, Benjamin. He recently made the last payment on his silver, Toyota Tacoma. He likes his job.

A U.S. district court has found that two graduates of a Massachusetts for-profit college have standing to challenge the U.S. Department of Education’s recent decision to delay implementation of the borrower defense regulation, which shifts loan repayment responsibility from the student to the school if it’s found that the school engaged in misconduct.

A federal judge has ruled that Education Secretary Betsy DeVos’ move to ease protections for former students of for-profit colleges should be reversed, handing a victory to those who said they were defrauded by their schools. But U.S. District Judge Randolph Moss put his ruling on hold for 30 days, giving the Education Department and others a chance to respond.

President Trump, who paid $25 million to settle allegations he defrauded Trump University students, and whose private-school education was covered entirely by his parents, was handed a legal defeat last week in his efforts to ignore a rule enacted by the Obama administration to protect student borrowers.

The Project is part of the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School (LSC), a community law office and clinical teaching site of the law school. Clinical students join the Project’s staff to litigate cases on behalf of clients, in partnership with community-based organizations and advocacy organizations.

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